The Porter Family: left to right, Eric, Darin, Nian and Stan have owned Porters RV since 1966.

I spoke with Darin Porter of Porters RV, who have been
in business since 1966 when Stan and Nian Porter founded the dealership
and own it to this day. It’s a true family business where
Darin runs the sales department and his brother Eric runs the parts and
service department. “The key is not just family but a whole bunch
of good employees, many of whom have been employed at Porters for a
long time” said Darin. “Our 17 employees exhibit
dedication, professionalism and they enjoy a great place to
work.”

Porters is open 8 am to 6 pm in
summer, and 8 am to 5 pm in the winter, six days a week.
Saturdays they close at 5 pm. Even in the winter they stay busy
doing both sales (people want to escape the rain) and parts and service.

Darin explained, “We’re
really lucky here because we are in a smaller area and because of the
longevity of the dealership, we’ve been able to hand-select the
brands and models that we carry, so as a result we literally have the
top-selling brands in the nation, along with several others to
compliment them. The main thing for us is to find a product that gives
good value to the consumer but also carries tremendous quality.”

I asked Darin whether he thought the
American consumer was changing the type of recreational vehicle they
buy. He responded, “We still have a segment of society that buys
the traditional RV, requiring a large pickup to tow it. But we’re
definitely seeing the expansion of the crossover type RVs, pulled by
smaller sport utility vehicles. As a result of the towing capacity of
those vehicles, we’re seeing the industry have to adapt and make
trailers lighter. ‘Light’ used to mean poor quality back in
the 80’s, but now lightweight means superb quality, but
engineered to weigh less. This has created a revolution in the RV
industry because these materials are even stronger than before, while
being towable by almost any vehicle. We have several crossover trailers
like the R-Pod which weighs less than 3,000 pounds.”

Porters RV has a full parts and
service department where customers can buy literally any part or
accessory for their RV. “Our service department is made up of
employees with years and years of experience. We stock a tremendous
amount of the most commonly-needed parts so that our customers can get
back on the road quickly. All our technicians are either Certified or
Master Certified, and our service manager has been here for 24 years.
We make sure that people are happy when they buy their RV and remain
happy after the sale,” says Darin.

Most of their the RVs sold at Porters
come from the Northwest. Jayco products are made in Idaho, Springdale
and Cougar travel trailers come from Pendleton, Oregon and Surveyors
come from Dallas, Oregon.

Darin says the future of the RV
business looks bright. “ Our business depends on several things,
one of them being demographics. With Baby Boomers retiring, the RV
market is getting larger and larger. We’re seeing more and more
retirees enjoying the RV lifestyle. People love it and
there’s no better way to travel, in my opinion. Interest rates
have remained low and the economy is improving. This business will
always be cyclical, but overall there is an upward trend in RV
sales.”

I asked Darin how he liked using the
South Coast Shopper to advertise his product. He replied,
“Advertising with the Shopper has been great—we’ve
always had good service with them. Advertising is all about one thing:
results. The biggest way that I know the Shopper works is because I
routinely get people walking in here carrying our ad and they say
‘I want to see this unit.’”

Darin concluded, “We can always
talk about our successes, but really, it’s because of the
customers that have supported us over the years. We’re very
thankful for their business.”

So if you’re looking for a
quality recreational vehicle with reliable service after the sale, stop
by Porters RV, located at 971 S. Broadway in Coos Bay. Or give them a
call at 541-269-5121 and get started on your way to enjoying the
fabulous RV lifestyle! www.portersrv.com